2000s Laws

 Section 120 - Adoption and Children Act 2002

It was written in the 2002 Act that witnessing domestic violence or the ill-treatment of another person could result in a child's health or development suffering as a result. 

By addressing the impact domestic violence has on the family of the victim, it takes the issue of abuse to the next level. As well as having a large physical and mental impact on the direct victim, the impact on children or other people living in the household can be just as severe. Therefore, this could have multiple different responses. 

Firstly, the abuser themselves may realise that their unacceptable actions are affecting their children and may stop their actions, however this is an unlikely outcome since they were willing to abuse their partner. 

Secondly, the direct victim may realise that they need to seek help or leave their abuse sooner in order to avoid their children from having violence inflicted upon them, or to reduce any long-standing psychological damage it could cause them. This is a positive as it means that the abuser is more likely to be reported, convicted, and sentenced to protect the family and the general public. 

However, what the Adoption and Children Act doesn't take into account is that domestic violence has to actually occur before children can be removed from that situation. Therefore, whilst it protects the children from abuse, as the name of the act solely suggests, it does not protect the immediate victim and they have to incur some sort of harm in order for action to be taken. 

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004

The main purpose of this act in particular was to make legal provisions about homicide as a result of domestic violence and also to clarify what factors can influence a plea, such as insanity of being unfit to make a plea. 

However, between these main aims, there were also other things implemented that helped to protect victims of domestic violence, and consequently protected female victims. 

The first thing that I thought had quite a large impact on protecting women from domestic violence is that the courts could still impose restraining orders on defendants even if they were acquitted. This can be very beneficial in many different ways. 

Firstly, if the defendant had been accused of a crime serious enough for them to be trialled at the Crown Court, such as grievous bodily harm, and they are found not guilty by a jury, the judge has no choice but to acquit them even if they have different views. Even if they have been not guilty, the judge could impose a restraining order so that the defendant must stay away from the victim to prevent future crimes. This could be used in cases regarding domestic violence to ensure that the victim is no longer in the proximity of the defendant, thus protecting them from abuse. 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jan/13/domestic-violence-act

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/section/76/enacted